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This is actually about 2 weeks old, but it never came up, so I figure better late than never.

The hactivist group Anonymous is claiming that Karl Rove attempted to rig the election for Mitt Romney using ORCA, Rove’s Get Out the Vote program. They claim that ORCA is really a vote tabulation manipulation software — though they have not been able to provide proof of their actions.

“We began following the ‘digital traffic of one Karl Rove, a disrespecter of the Rule of Law, knowing that he claimed to be Kingmaker while grifting vast wealth from barons who gladly handed him gold to anoint another King while looking the other way.

“After a rather short time, we identified the digital structure of Karl’s operation and even that of his ORCA. This was an easy task in that the barn doors were left open and the wind swept us inside.”

I'm not much for conspiracy theory, but this does seem to fit. Karl Rove didn't just seem upset that Romney lost Ohio, he looked shocked. He appeared to be stuck in a state of disbelief. On top of that, no one has been able to contradict their claims for how Rove was planning to do it. Apparently, it is entirely feasible. The biggest issue seems to be that Anonymous won't provide proof. The two theories are that Anonymous broke laws themselves by hacking into a private network, so they would be opening themselves up for prosecution if they gave proof, or that they are simply lying. Thoughts on this...?

If I could take your pain and frame it, and hang it on my wall,
maybe you would never have to hurt again...

I don't buy this for a second. ORCA wasn't hooked in to any of the vote tabulation software at all. All it was supposed to be (it didn't work, but the idea anyway) was a computerized "strike list." And all a strike list is is a list of names of voters you're trying to turn out. As they vote, you cross them off, so you have a good way to isolate who hasn't voted yet and can be contacted. ORCA was just an app designed to make that process digital.

If you read some of the stories of ORCA's hilarious failures and bugs and mistakes, it becomes pretty clear that any picture of ORCA as a grand plan to steal the election is comical, at best.

I'm not much for conspiracy theory, but this does seem to fit. Karl Rove didn't just seem upset that Romney lost Ohio, he looked shocked. He appeared to be stuck in a state of disbelief. On top of that, no one has been able to contradict their claims for how Rove was planning to do it. Apparently, it is entirely feasible. The biggest issue seems to be that Anonymous won't provide proof. The two theories are that Anonymous broke laws themselves by hacking into a private network, so they would be opening themselves up for prosecution if they gave proof, or that they are simply lying. Thoughts on this...?

Anonymous already breaks the law, this is not anything new. They are just making stuff up. If they had something they would release it, there's no reason not to.

Anonymous already breaks the law, this is not anything new. They are just making stuff up. If they had something they would release it, there's no reason not to.

There is some truth to this, but there is definitely a difference between breaking the law and messing with one of the most influential people in U.S. politics. I tend to agree with you and Walrus, though. If this was something some internet hackers could catch, it would have been caught by the CIA or FBI as well. People tend to forget that this isn't a movie where some genius kid outsmarts everyone in the government. There are some serious heavy hitters working with these agencies...